1 Samuel 8:6

Samuel prayed. Israel again proceeded to do precisely what they had done for centuries — move without awaiting divine guidance. They had been warned against drifting into idolatry, but they preferred to follow the ways of the nations about them rather than the directions of the Lord. Moses had foretold that the time would come when Israel would ask for a king, in order to be like the nations about them (Deut. 17:14), and now they were literally fulfilling this prophecy. Although the elders were probably moved solely by political motives, Samuel showed them the better way — seeking the Lord in prayer. They had undervalued their high religious privileges and had not realized that the nation’s real need was not a new power but a permanent organization of the theocracy to meet the confusion that resulted from their own restlessness and perversity.

They were unwilling to submit the case to God to know His will, and Samuel exercised his official prerogative by insisting that they leave the decision in so weighty a matter to the Lord, who had always been ready to deliver them in times of perplexity. Deeply as Samuel must have been hurt by such a demand on the part of the people, he made available to them his services as prophet, as faithfully when the question was one injurious to himself as upon more pleasant occasions. His attitude seems to have been much the same as that of Christ centuries later when He cried, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), and of John as he said concerning Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).